Another one in jail …

… complements of Merit! Below is a post we got this week from Merit’s owner and handler – Terri Heck. We are so proud of these ladies and the service they provide to their community. We never can hear enough about the searches – Keep up the great work! You can read more about Merit, Terri and their other working team (Apache & husband Jim) on their website: Summit Search & Rescue

<<Hey all,  Most of the time our searches are not such that I am compelled to bore you with the details but last night’s is an exception.

first and foremost I am proud of “Merit” and maybe somewhat of this “not so young handler”. A brief synopsis follows. Auto accident – car on roof – flattened. Driver and passenger fled on foot. Passenger apprehended approx. 1/2 mile away laying in thicket. First I had to impersonate an auto mechanic as I layed on the road on my back to be able to have access to the air bag and steering wheel as I prepared a scent article. Trail was picked up on the road, crossing a major creek (bridge thankfully) and into a field. Working across the briar laden field she came to a thicket area (I was then informed that this was where the passenger was apprehended. She continued into increasingly thick thicket. At this point this handler had to belly crawl (police department estimated atleast 50 yards). Scuff marks were observed in several areas. Note: fenced in GSD’s were running a fence line next to us barking – ignored by “Merit”. Barbed wire tried to take us down as well. “Merit” then had a strong alert on the fence wanting to get to the other side. Fence was bent down a bit. After we were assured the GSDs could not get to that area we lifted her over the fence. The trail continued through an area of storage sheds, abandoned buildings etc and out to the road about 3/4 of a mile North of where the accident occurred. Trail ended at that point. After several casts she jumped up on me. Strong trail for an hour! Walking back on the road – back tracking was clearly not a plan – but walked to see if anything else was noticed. Shortly after ending point “Merit” on collar had a strong alert at the golf course . Across grass from road tire tracks were observed and scraped pavement – police department felt strong likelihood they had lost control at that point but were able to continue until lost control again at crash site. 30 minutes after returning home I was notified that the subject was in custody – dog’s trail confirmed. Police department credits the dog with the quick direction of their investigation and subsequent apprehension. Love this dog!  Terri>>